The Canadian’s infirmary has been overcrowded since the start of the season. A situation that has serious consequences for his school club Laval.
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The Habs urgently recalled forwards Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Rem Pitlick for their game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
Those two personnel changes took away two key players from Rocket as they faced the Americans in Rochester on Wednesday night.
That’s the reality of an American League team. The coaches are aware that on any given night they may find themselves with a formation amputated from multiple elements.
Jean-François Houle is used to living with the vagaries of numerous recalls from an NHL team.
“It’s never an easy situation,” he emphasized after his morning workout. If there are three injuries above and you also have three injuries, that’s six players we need to replace in the American League.
“The Canadian has a lot of injuries, but so do we. That’s why you sign two-part contracts with the Trois-Rivières Lions. They’re almost all here except for two.
“It looks like what we experienced in January 2022. We’re preparing as if Harvey-Pinard and Pitlick aren’t coming back with us. »
occasions
Injuries give other players a chance to show off. Houle has no choice but to give more responsibility to certain attackers or defenders.
“I gave Olivier Galipeau and Santino Centorame more ice time in defense to compensate for the loss of several players.
“On offense, a player like Lucas Condotta switched from a fourth row to a second row. Meanwhile, Nate Schnarr was moved to the third row. There are also Lions boys trying to get ahead and get some Ice Age.
“It gives other players the opportunity to play on special teams. It’s part of their learning. »
Very busy foal
With the Canadian recalling Cayden Primeau, Kevin Poulin found himself with a surplus of work in front of the Rocket’s cage. He has been a regular in the team’s last five games.
“We brought him help with the arrival of Philippe Desrosiers in the last few days,” said Houle. We have to do everything to win games. He has more experience than Joe Vrbetic, who struggled before being sent back to Trois-Rivières. He has to play games. »
If the Rocket wants to stay in the playoff race, it needs to be consistently successful. An aspect that has been missing since the beginning of the campaign.
“We need to play over .500 in the second half of the season. It won’t be easy because the table is very tight. If we play like we’ve been doing for a month, we have chances.
“However, some players need to go one step further. »